2018 Gardening, Landscaping, and Plants

[taldesta]

When I saw this little hummingbird flailing about on the ground here .. and so well I understood the odds ... and the time commitment ... from my early life on the farm of trying to save small lives with big challenges ...

I thought of the chances of the hummingbird making it off the ground, flying from here to Lake Ontario shore, traversing Lake Ontario to the US, making it to the Gulf of Mexico, successfully crossing that water body - well my farm understanding was 'no chance in heck'.

Because the hummingbird migration is so unbelievably phenomenal to me ... tiny heartbeats, tiny size, massive distances, huge waves, storms - quite unbelievable odds against ... and yet

I had to try. The bug dust delivery objects are changed about to get the bird's interest. Mostly I must animate them to get the bird's interest. Have canceled my fall camp trip. I am seeing good excretions, a balance of nectar and bug dust - in appearance. Lots of flying activity. Lots of grooming - most worrying as my concerns over mites and parasites. We shall see. Day by day.

These tiny hummingbird creatures pale our human efforts to overcome what we see as mountains. They face mountains and hover to take energy to fly above them. Give me 1,000th the strength of a hummingbird ... I would consider myself to be lucky.

Hunger is a great sign that I look for even after so many days ... the long tongue takes nectar




Blurry ... but bug dust offered on a fresh bloom seems to work today. Awaiting delivery of protein supplemented food supply in nectar form.



Anyone who has had a chickadee land on their hand for a sunflower seed, anyone who has seen a creature revived who was near lost ... hopefully can understand. Gosh, I hope he makes it to see all his family back here next spring!

 

[LEGION 12]

When I saw this little hummingbird flailing about on the ground here .. and so well I understood the odds ... and the time commitment ... from my early life on the farm of trying to save small lives with big challenges ...

I thought of the chances of the hummingbird making it off the ground, flying from here to Lake Ontario shore, traversing Lake Ontario to the US, making it to the Gulf of Mexico, successfully crossing that water body - well my farm understanding was 'no chance in heck'.

Because the hummingbird migration is so unbelievably phenomenal to me ... tiny heartbeats, tiny size, massive distances, huge waves, storms - quite unbelievable odds against ... and yet

I had to try. The bug dust delivery objects are changed about to get the bird's interest. Mostly I must animate them to get the bird's interest. Have canceled my fall camp trip. I am seeing good excretions, a balance of nectar and bug dust - in appearance. Lots of flying activity. Lots of grooming - most worrying as my concerns over mites and parasites. We shall see. Day by day.

These tiny hummingbird creatures pale our human efforts to overcome what we see as mountains. They face mountains and hover to take energy to fly above them. Give me 1,000th the strength of a hummingbird ... I would consider myself to be lucky.

Hunger is a great sign that I look for even after so many days ... the long tongue takes nectar

View attachment 997871


Blurry ... but bug dust offered on a fresh bloom seems to work today. Awaiting delivery of protein supplemented food supply in nectar form.

View attachment 997866

Anyone who has had a chickadee land on their hand for a sunflower seed, anyone who has seen a creature revived who was near lost ... hopefully can understand. Gosh, I hope he makes it to see all his family back here next spring!

 

[22-rimfire]

As an update, I have continued to see two female ruby throated hummingbirds coming to my feeder. All the males and most of the females are gone. I have kept fresh sugar water available for them in two feeders.

Monday 10/8/18: I thought the last of the hummingbirds had departed over the weekend. But I saw one today. May be a straggler too old or weak to make the journey? But I do know that the nectar/sugar water levels haven't changed much since late last week.

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[taldesta]

Monday 10/8/18: I thought the last of the hummingbirds had departed over the weekend. But I saw one today. May be a straggler too old or weak to make the journey? But I do know that the nectar/sugar water levels haven't changed much since late last week.

So, one last sighting ... on Monday, which is our Thanksgiving up North here ...

Except for the one little guy who was blown in needing help here on the 21st, all others left on the 15th of September. BTW little fella here is taking fruitflies on the wing in his enclosure - yikes there goes the housekeeping. I placed the compost buddy from the kitchen counter beside his enclosure and dropped a small dab of strong smelling malt vinegar on his floor. When they travel he loves it! Hoping there will be no delay in receiving the protein rich nectar mix because this little guy is quite efficient at managing the 'livestock'. At this rate they won't last long.

Still, I am grinding up dried mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers ... adding this bug dust to nectar ... and also baiting him with little bug shapes dangled on jute twine ... these catch his interest. He samples them with his tongue and winds up with a little more protein. Lots of hygiene needed when working with this tiny one.

Age, I do wonder. The red throat says adult male ... but the size just doesn't back it up. Perhaps old, wizened ... on last legs? Time will tell. Meanwhile, he is quite active, showing lots of appetite and high interest in little flying insects that cross his path. Happy in the sunshine coming in the window today ... just like summer here before temps drop on Thu.

... and that's my hummingbird update for today

 

[taldesta]

Crops are still looking so healthy, LEGION ... producing right to the end of season. Your pics have convinced me to grow peppers next year so I better get up to the veg garden and do a little fall expansion while the weather holds.

I've pulled the geraniums but have decided not to overwinter this year ... too little space here. I've already dug and expanded the perennial gardens right by the house to ready them for spring. Around the maple tree I've built up the ground (not against the trunk) to level it out to the drip line and will lay landscaping fabric and some good mulch.

Fall colours are spectacular right now and will peak over this coming week or two.

 

[22-rimfire]

We're just seeing the first signs of the fall foliage change here. Some of the early trees have been rapidly dropping leaves (like cherry, what we called choke cherry as kids). Maybe I should head north for some fall color.

My sister in Nashville TN said her hummingbirds have departed. So, I'm guessing the one I saw yesterday is a straggler. It was hitting the flowers versus the nectar feeders. I enjoy seeing the hummingbirds. The blue birds have been very active here over the last couple of days. They winter here. I have a couple boxes up and the their nesting in them seems to vary from year to year.

I have yanked all of my tomato plants and a couple green peppers. The peppers were going well and then started to wilt. I'm guessing some sort of root nemotodes perhaps. The ones in containers are still doing well. Water was not the issue.

My amaryliss have been dropping leaves. I may just give them another week or so and cut off the remaining green leaves. I want them to go dormant. That seems to be an important thing if you want them to bloom in December or January indoors (aka forced). They have to be dormant for a couple months so I read. Last year I only had a few that bloomed during the winter and then come June or July, I had quite a few of them blooming then outdoors. When I bring them indoors, that begins a major space issue for plants in my house.

I decided to not try to propagate the Lantana. The dominant reason is the space limitations I have once the other stuff is brought indoors. Maybe I'll try a couple just to see if they root and go from there. But the majority will be purchased come May 2019.

 

[taldesta]

We're just seeing the first signs of the fall foliage change here. Some of the early trees have been rapidly dropping leaves (like cherry, what we called choke cherry as kids). Maybe I should head north for some fall color.

My sister in Nashville TN said her hummingbirds have departed. So, I'm guessing the one I saw yesterday is a straggler. It was hitting the flowers versus the nectar feeders. I enjoy seeing the hummingbirds. The blue birds have been very active here over the last couple of days. They winter here. I have a couple boxes up and the their nesting in them seems to vary from year to year.

I have yanked all of my tomato plants and a couple green peppers. The peppers were going well and then started to wilt. I'm guessing some sort of root nemotodes perhaps. The ones in containers are still doing well. Water was not the issue.

My amaryliss have been dropping leaves. I may just give them another week or so and cut off the remaining green leaves. I want them to go dormant. That seems to be an important thing if you want them to bloom in December or January indoors (aka forced). They have to be dormant for a couple months so I read. Last year I only had a few that bloomed during the winter and then come June or July, I had quite a few of them blooming then outdoors. When I bring them indoors, that begins a major space issue for plants in my house.

I decided to not try to propagate the Lantana. The dominant reason is the space limitations I have once the other stuff is brought indoors. Maybe I'll try a couple just to see if they root and go from there. But the majority will be purchased come May 2019.

I did bring in 5 of the smallest pots before the first frost - a frost that did take part of the coleus on the porch. Inside now are lobelia, nasturtiums, geraniums, verbena, chenille ... mostly I wanted to have some blossoms inside for the hummingbird to extend the season. There is one small lantana among these and I will try to take cuttings and start up in the company of English ivy rootings in a small glass. Not hopeful either, with such a woody stem.

Today 8 cord of wood will be delivered. Going to be busy getting all that stacked. I do have stacked 2 1/2 cord of super dry wood that will split nicely to kindling. It is very late in the season to be taking on wood but the summer was so hot to be slugging logs that I waited too long to order it in. I will order in another 4 cord at a premium - super seasoned for fast burning, so I should manage well over winter.

Yesterday I arrived home from town to find the mail pick up slip on the door handle. The protein nectar! So I went back into town to pick it up but the mail guy had a long day and had not returned it to the location for pick up yet. This morning I picked it up, prepared a small quantity and replaced one of the medicine droppers in the hummingbird enclosure. He likes it! So far

 

[LEGION 12]

Last peppers of this year going have to cover up my carrots at night now.

 

[eisman]

Leaves are turning here around the Puget Sound. We've had our first frost, and the fall fog is almost daily now. Days are noticeably shorter. I still have hummingbirds hitting the feeders and few flowers coming out of the late plants. The seed feeder is starting to get traffic, and I'll be putting out the suet pretty soon. (I have a new plan to try and keep the non-winged stuff out of it.) All my bulbs are planted for the spring. Grass is back to a weekly cutting. With a little luck I can get the last of the trees pruned before the rain really sets in.

 

[22-rimfire]

I'm seeing one hummingbird at my house in SE Tennessee now. No frost yet here. But the leaves are starting to change now.

 

[taldesta]

Hummingbird update from here: still only one! and it looks like he will stay the winter if he stays on track. I think the complete food arrived just in time. You may notice some new white feathering or down fluffing out in a couple of places. I am taking this for a good sign - feathers are what he needs That tongue of his is longer than his 'beak' ... amazing to watch him tank up on his protein nectar at blinding speed. Also he is offered bug dust and likes to pick at it ... always the long tongue samples things. Fruit flies are low in numbers with the colder weather. (thank goodness )

His enclosure is surrounded by and contains lots of plants and flowers. He has actually walked around in his 'bath' - nice open low sided container with a lettuce leaf and blossoms with a wee bit of water. He flies around a lot even on those frail wings and is very active ... especially since the main wild bird feeder and perch area are just outside his window on the world. At break of day it is prep fresh nectar, clean enclosure ... all with great attention to hygiene.



The wood stacking is going very slowly - a nice job in good working weather but not in this drizzly cold rain we're having. So the workday is laid out ahead ... log by log.

 

[Rose and Thistle Custom]

Yup, woodstacking is no fun, we just had to set a goal of so many minutes a day till we got it done. our only plant still growing is one stubborn old fashioned rose bush but one of the blueberry bushes hasn't ripened yet, hopefully it will.

Edited to add, actually we have a jalapeno indoors that's producing pretty well

 

[taldesta]

Leaves are turning here around the Puget Sound. We've had our first frost, and the fall fog is almost daily now. Days are noticeably shorter. I still have hummingbirds hitting the feeders and few flowers coming out of the late plants. The seed feeder is starting to get traffic, and I'll be putting out the suet pretty soon. (I have a new plan to try and keep the non-winged stuff out of it.) All my bulbs are planted for the spring. Grass is back to a weekly cutting. With a little luck I can get the last of the trees pruned before the rain really sets in.

I would like to see the non-winged solution you come up with. Then there are the jays as well, and I am thinking of a feeder plan that might restrict them because of their size - perhaps made of plexi ... a worthy winter project. I've looked at a lot of the feeders where the weight of the squirrel or grackle will trip the perch to drop ... but I am skeptical as to how they would perform with freezing rain and heavy snows. Something simpler, less mechanical. I just want one protected feeder for the little birds. All the other hungry things will have a place at the table, but just not where they drive off the little ones completely.

Yesterday I had the best laugh at a squirrel trying to jump to the feeder here that is strung from snare wire - my system to prevent squirrels and chipmunks from raiding one feeder I want reserved for chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches etc.

This squirrel is the only one who actually has made an almost impossible leap successfully several times over summer; highly recognizable because of his very red fur. Also, he is a terrorist among all the red, grey and black squirrels here.

Well, yesterday I watched as he tried then missed, stood up high on his haunches under the feeder and 'boxed' at it in the air ... then tried again. The funny part is that he is simply too fat now. Too many sunflower seeds, too long in the chow line packing it on for over winter. Too bad so sad

 

[eisman]

Love the hummer rescue. Seriously hope he makes it.

I just got a new seed feeder, this one with a glass hopper that's curved out like an old railroad lantern. That makes the perch too shallow for the jays, and they are not happy. Still have hummingbirds. This one was willing to get within 6" of my face to tell me to back off from the feeder.

The fall plants are getting their color, the rest are losing leaves or (in the case of the evergreens) trying to see how much they can grow.

We have had beautiful weather this past week, although it's getting into the 30's at night. I've been working a lot of OT, and now have to leave town for a few days to attend a wedding, so I'll probably head home to rain for another 4 months.

 

[22-rimfire]

I haven't seen a black squirrel in a long time. They just don't live this far south as far as I know. I had a feeling that "grey squirrel" in a picture a while back was in fact a black squirrel.

I have one of the feeders that the "trip the perch" type. Snow could be a problem operationally, especially ice. But that is the time when you could relax your feeding "restrictions" also.

Nice Jap Maple Eisman.

 

[Rose and Thistle Custom]

Love seeing peoples yards that still have leaves etc here it's all bleak. At least no snow yet.

 

[taldesta]

I appreciate that nobody in this thread has expressed negative sentiments regarding the 'interference' with nature. I would understand.

When I was a kid on the farm I remember having to finish off a mouse that a barn cat had mauled to near death ... with a rock. It was a strong act for a kid, but I knew it was a kindness and just did it. Can't say where that resolve came from.

So ... he is turning green! A good sign of feather growth. So iridescent green in fact that he is finally named. Busby ... as in buzzbee - anyone who has been buzzed by a hummingbird would know. It is a name change that I must remind myself of daily, far better than saying as I have to date "How's Little Fart doing this morning?"



Also, the time he spends in the air, buzzing like a huge dragonfly, is growing ... another good sign. I measure it in seconds. The challenge ahead is to keep him in the air as much as possible to prepare him for release. Hanging nectar-dipped, bug-dust sprinkled blossoms from the enclosure roof seem to keep his interest and hover time higher.

I have monitored the consumption as a sign of growing health ... or otherwise. From the medicine droppers his tongue shoots in and out ... a bubble goes up - success! His norm now is four bubbles and his top record is 7 bubbles - how he can even lift off after such gluttony is amazing!

Outside Busby's window on the world, I have stacked my planters and topped them with the sun shutters off the south facing windows so that the jays and squirrels can bring life to his world over winter along with the chickadees, nuthatches and others. Landscaping gone wrong. So far he is loving it!

So, it is day by day, bubbles and seconds ... honestly I look forward to nightfall when the buzzing goes to roost!

Good grief Busby, it's after 6, past sundown ... for pete's sake stop the buzzing and go to sleep!

 

[taldesta]

There were hopeless moments I did not post. The hummingbird flopped twice right off his perch to hang by only one claw. Dead bird hanging.

First time I brought my hand up under him, indeed thinking he was dead ... but he startled awake and regained his perch for the night. Second time same thing. I am thinking that a bird's natural end is swift and kind.

Third time I was actually watching him - he just collapsed, looked like a broken necked bird slung over the perch ... then he fell upside down hanging by one claw. Absolutely freakingly scary moments ... for all purposes looking dead and swinging ... but not.

Now it seems we are growing feathers, eating like a horse and more energetic than seems appreciated - but I am so grateful that he has spark.